


i bruise easily (so be gentle when you handle me)

by ralf



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Feelings, M/M, Romance, Sappy Ending, i still screw with it a bit, ridiculous timeline of shadowhunters is ridiculous, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22403380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ralf/pseuds/ralf
Summary: Every souled creature bears a mark on their ankle, a symbol that reflects the core of their being, their very essence. Once you fall in love with someone their mark appears somewhere on your body and never fades til the day you die.Magnus's skin has borne no more than seventeen marks for the past century. Two weeks after he meets Alec Lightwood an eighteenth blooms into existence.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 14
Kudos: 249
Collections: Favorite Malec Stories





	i bruise easily (so be gentle when you handle me)

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Both lyrics in and title of this fic are from Natasha Bedingfield's song “I bruise easily”.
> 
> I also don't own the setting of this fic (as explained in the first two lines, the third is an addition by me lol).  
> I first read it in [this sterek ficlet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7938808) though it originally originates from [this tumblr post](https://trashtumblertrash.tumblr.com/post/619816706806775808/empressnacho-eryuko-spookymileskane-au).

~~~  
_Anyone who can touch you, can hurt you or heal you  
Anyone who can reach you, can love you or leave you_  
~~~

Every souled creature bears a mark on their ankle, a symbol that reflects the core of their being, their very essence. Once you fall in love with someone their mark appears somewhere on your body and never fades til the day you die.

Even after centuries of research no scientific explanation or possible meaning could be found for the location of the marks, but if two people bear each other's mark in the same place they are rumored to be soulmates.

~~~  
_My skin is like a map of where my heart has been  
_~~~

For more than a century the same seventeen marks have adorned Magnus's skin. He's lost count how many hours of his long life he's spent staring at them, tracing them with his fingers, marveling at their simplistic beauty and their sharp cruelty. Reminders, forever etched into him, of past mistakes, of missed chances, of happiness that was never meant to last.

They draw attention as much as they do on his heartstrings, so it's an easy decision to cast a glamor that keeps them from prying eyes and from his wistful mind. The flow of life has its own way of keeping him occupied, and he drowns in it willingly. What use is it to dwell on what's past and gone?

He loses himself in exuberance of color and movement and ceases to think of the marks lurking underneath his magic shield, or so he wishes. When the thoughts crawl up on him in the dead of night he's helpless to fight them, knowing that his unembellished skin is a lie he'd love to believe, that he can hide the marks on his skin but can never erase the scars on his battered heart.

~~~  
_I bruise easily so be gentle when you handle me  
_~~~

Magnus has a sinking feeling in his gut from the moment he meets Alec Lightwood, a feeling that his traitorous heart might soon escape the fine-meshed enclosure he cast it into decades ago.

 _Oh_ , he thinks when Alec saves his life and then saves it again.

Alec's gaze prickles on his skin, his rare smiles prickle in Magnus's stomach and his heart twists in his chest.

 _Oh_ , he thinks when Alec cradles him close, freely sharing his strength with him.

He forgot what it feels like to be secure in another's embrace and the warmth melts his defenses.

 _Oh_ , he thinks when Alec stays with him for drinks, and vague trepidation over _if_ turns into the surety of _only a matter of time_.

~~~  
_I found your finger prints on a glass of wine. Do you know you're leaving them all over this heart of mine too?  
~~~_

He's known Alec for barely two weeks when an eighteenth mark blooms on his chest, right over his heart. Even without ever having seeing Alec's symbol he knows who the poised bow and arrow belong to.

He finds himself following the bold lines with his fingers, the elegant sweep of the bow, the sharp tip of the arrowhead. Fear and lightness war within him. His instinct to withdraw and keep himself safe strives against his heart's foolish fervor, thumping against the mark with every beat.

In the end the fight is over before it's even really begun.

Self-preservation was never Magnus's strong suit.

~~~ _  
I'm learning to fall with no safety net to cushion the blow  
_~~~

After all the hardships they faced, all the obstacles they had to overcome it feels surreal to be here, between silky sheets, with nothing ahead of them but time to indulge in each other.

They kiss. Magnus loses his shirt.

They kiss. Alec loses his shirt.

Magnus leans in again, even the scant distance between them too much when he sees it, nestled right over Alec's heart. A star, slightly crooked and messy as if drawn by an unsteady hand. A design he's known all his life. His breath catches.

Alec follows his gaze and a delicate blushes curles over his cheeks, not embarrassed but shy. “Yeah,” he whispers, voice raspy with emotions exposed by his skin. His eyes are warm and gentle, entirely undemanding, only an endless well of affection.

There's no decision to be had. Magnus's fingers still waver as he clicks them to disperse the part of his glamor that hides Alec's mark from sight.

It takes a moment for Alec to register what he sees but when he does his smile is the sweetest thing in the world. His hand settles along the edge of the mark reverently. There's pure wonder in his eyes as if he can't believe it's really there.

It squeezes at Magnus's heart. “I'm sorry I hid it before. I...” Words evade him. He doesn't want to cloud this fragile moment with his fears.

“It's okay. You don't have to explain.” Alec brushes a kiss against his lips. “I love you.”

And even though he knew, even though he saw the truth of Alec's feelings on his skin a mere minute ago his quiet confession lances straight through his heart, a pleasant ache that moistens the corners of his eyes. “I love you, too,” he whispers back and it's easy. So easy to bare his soul to Alec, so easy to sink into his kisses and pull him that much closer.

~~~  
_So I let down my guard, drop my defences, down by my clothes  
_~~~

Magnus doesn't remember ever feeling so peaceful. Everything is soft, warm, safe. Alec's heart beats next to his cheek, a soothing rhythm echoed in the slow caresses of his hand along Magnus's side.

“You must have more,” Alec murmurs into the calm between them, his fingers never ceasing their tender ministrations.

Magnus remains at ease, something he never thought possible when it came to his marks, but Alexander makes it so easy. There's no tension, no fear. Just them. “I do.”

Alec hums, his fingers drawing circles on Magnus's hip. “Show me?”

After what they shared it's nothing to let that last bit of his glamor go. Magnus forgot what it felt like to stop holding back. He never wants to start again.

Alec traces over his unveiled marks, fingers careful and devoid of reticence, unreserved of Magnus's past. Magnus tingles everywhere they touch.

“Who were they?” Alec's hand curls around a delicate eighth note in the valley of his hip.

“Imasu.” Magnus is surprised to find the memory doesn't twinge, not this time.

Alec's hand drifts on until it reaches the wide strokes of a sword on the edge of his rib cage, lingering in question.

“George.”

A cluster of waves, vibrant and wild, on the inside of his arm.

“Etta.”

A pair of diamonds at the base of his collarbone. Magnus swallows. His most painful memento.

“Camille.”

Alec's hand covers his pulse point as he leans closer, his lips a brand of comfort against his temple. He spends long moments breathing him in, leading him away from a pain long past, back to a joyous present.

“And this one?” he whispers, a playful lilt to his voice as his fingers settle over Magnus's heart. Magnus turns to catch his eyes and feels nothing but mellow, tender. Loved.

 _Soulmate_ , he thinks but doesn't dare say, not yet.

“Mine,” he answers instead, and Alec tastes the syllable off his lips.

Their smiles meld together.

“Yours.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you liked it and check out [some more soulmarks on tumblr](https://ralfstrashcan.tumblr.com/post/190457758774/some-fanart-i-did-for-my-latest-ficlet-i) :D


End file.
